Powder dispenser



July 2, 1968 5. BALLIN POWDER DISPENSER Filed Aug. 18. 1966 INVENTOR. GENE BALLIN United States Patent Ofice 3,390,822 Patented July 2, 1968 POWDER DISPENSER Gene Ballin, 3045 Shore Drive, Merrick, N.Y. 11566 Filed Aug. 18, 1966, Ser. No. 573,390 9 Claims. (Cl. 222-355) ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for dispensing powder from a bottle having a movable sleeve in the bottle neck. The interior of the sleeve is in communication with the bottle when in its inward position and is in communication with the exterior of the bottle when in its outward position. A cap is detachably secured to the sleeve to prevent contamination of the bottle contents and to accurately measure the dispensed material. The sleeve has a flexible holding portion interior of the bottle and a stem extending axially outwardlythroughthe sleeve and connected to the flexible portion.

This invention is concerned with a closure for containers for free-flowing powders or liquids, particularly hygroscopic powders, by means of which measured quantities of such powder may be dispensed from the container and, at the same time, the container is kept generally sealed against the entry or evaporation of moisture.

In the dispensing of powdered material used in small quantities, it is important to protect the powder from atmospheric contamination, yet at the same time provide a simple method of measured dispensing. It is the purpose of my invention to provide such a dispensing apparatus of such a nature as to be of low cost and disposable.

My invention consists essentially of a specially formed sleeve member which is adapted to seat in the neck of a container and which contains therein openings which are sequentially capable of being opened to the power or liquid and the atmosphere. In association with the sleeve, I provide a cap which is designed to serve as a means for positioning the sleeve and also to act as an intermediate receptacle for the dispensed material.

The detailed construction of the device by means of which these objects are accomplished, and other advantages and characteristics thereof will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure of a preferred embodiment of the invention selected for illustration and disclosure herein.

The drawings for the selected embodiment are as follows:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded view, with some parts in cross-section, of the elements of this form of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of one detail of the structure of FIG. 1, showing its original molded form and its extended form after insertion;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged longitudinal central crosssectional view through the assembly of FIG. 1 showing the parts in container-sealing relation;

FIGURE 4 shows the structure of FIGURE 2 inverted with the container sealed and the powder in the sleeve and cap; and

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating the position of the parts when the cap is removed to obtain a measured quantity of the powder.

Referring to FIG. 1, the invention as disclosed is used in connection with a container having an externally threaded neck 11. This container may be made of glass, metal, plastic or other suitable materials. The neck 11 of container 10 defines an elongated opening, through which the container can be filled and its contents dispensed. In accordance with this invention the closure for the container comprises two parts, one part being a specially formed slide 14 designed for insertion into the container and the other part being a removable cap 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the cap 16 is internally threaded and dimensioned for cooperation with the threads 12 on the neck of the container 10 to secure the cap 16 on the container 10. It will be understood that other equivalent ways of securing cap 16 on container 10 may be used, such as bayonet slots and pins, a friction fit, or the like. The cap 16 is cup-shaped and has a centrally positioned integral annular wall 20 extending axially out of the open side of the cap. The cap 16 and annular wall 20 are dimensioned so that the chamber C, thereby formed by the annular wall 20, has a capacity equal to a predetermined measured quantity of the powder to be dispensed.

Slide 14 is preferably a single integral flexible molded plastic piece having a sleeve 22 which is closed at one end by a wall 21 (described more in detail below) and is provided at the open end with a radial outwardly extending flange 23. An axially extending internal stem 17 is integrally formed with the end wall 21 toform thestrueture as shown in FIGURE 1, prior to insertion in the neck of the container.

The structure of the end wall 21 is shown more in detail in FIG. 2. The stem 17 is formed with a conical tip 17a which is extended in a thin flexible web 21a to form wall 21. Web 21a is also conical in configuration, flaring outwardly and downwardly from an annular curved section 21b adjacent stem 17. At its outer edge, conical web 21a is joined to the flexible cylindrical sleeve 22 by a filleted section 21c.

When stem 17 is pushed downwardly relative to sleeve 22, as described below, sleeve 22 buckles outward adjacent filleted section 21c, and curved section 21b straightens out so that the end wall 21 becomes essentially a single conical wall shown in dotted lines in the figure. At the same time, the lower edge 22a of the sleeve 22 flares outwardly as shown at 15. As shown below, this serves to permit easy insertion of the slide 16, and thereafter to prevent its removal during use.

Essentially, slide member 14 is thus provided with two different stable configurations. In a first configuration, in which it may :be originally molded, its outer surface is essentially cylindrical, in the form of sleeve 22 (disregarding flange 23 for the time being). This shape is particularly appropriate for molding, since there are no undercuts. Upon depressing steam 17 relative to sleeve 22, the member snaps into a different and also stable configuration, as shown dotted in FIG. 2 and as shown in FIG. 3, with an outer annular flange 15, which serves to retain slide member 14 within the container neck 11, and prevents withdrawal, unless suflicient pull is exerted on stem 17 to revert to the original configuration. It should be noted that a pull on sleeve 22 alone cannot easily distort the slide member 14 to allow withdrawal.

The stem 17 is of such a length that it projects above the flanged end 23 of sleeve 22. Sleeve 22 is also provided with a plurality (such as four) of openings 18 separated by strips 19. The openings 18 are located near the closed end of the sleeve 22. A thin washer 13, as shown in FIGURE 1, may optionally be forced over stem 17 to form a seal across and near the bottom of sleeve 22, to determine the size of the portion of sleeve 22 open to the powder.

Initially, after the container 10 is filled with powder, the sleeve 22 is slipped into the container neck 11 until the flange 23 seats on the edge of the neck 11, as shown in FIG. 3. Sleeve 22 is dimensioned so as to slidably engage the inside wall of the container neck 11. The cap 16 is then forced into the sleeve 22 so that the annular wall 20 fric-tionally engages the inner surface of sleeve 22 until the threads on the cap and the neck can be engaged. The friction fit between cap 16 and the sleeve 22 is designed to be tighter than the sliding fit between sleeve 22 and the neck. The cap 16 is then screwed home and the end of the stem 17 is engaged by the base of cap 16 and pushed finally to the position shown in FIG. 3. This inward axial movement of the stem 17 causes the flexible end wall 21 of the sleeve to be displaced to the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 where it assumes the conical form shown. When the bottom edge of sleeve 22 is deformed to its final flaring shape, as shown in FIG. 3, an annular retaining flange 15 will be formed having a diameter greater than the internal diameter of the neck 11 of the container 10. It will be appreciated that other expandable seals may be used at the lower end of sleeve 22 to limit the movement of the sleeve 22.

In use, the container is inverted, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the powder P can flow through the openings 18 between the strips 19 to fill the annular space between the annular wall20 and the stem 17. If necessary, a slight shaking will assure such powder flow. There will, of course, be some additional powder that will gain entrance to the sleeve 22, as indicated in FIG. 4. The amount of such powder will be limited by washer 13. The cap 16 is then disengaged from the neck 11 of the container by unscrewing it, whereupon by pulling on the cap the sleeve 22 will slide down to the position shown in FIG. 5. In this position the enlarged annular flange 15 will seal the inner end of the neck 22. A further pull on the cap 16 will cause it to come loose from the sleeve 22 and as it does, stem 17 is withdrawn from the measuring chamber defined by the annular wall 20. The excess powder referred to above will then fall into the space thus afforded by the withdrawal of the stem 17. The result is that, with the parts properly proportioned and dimensioned, a predetermined measured quantity PD of the powder will be present in the cap 16. This dosage may be then used and the cap replaced by forcing the annular wall 20 into the sleeve 22. This is preferably done with the bottle returned to normal upright position. As the cap 16 is forced into position to engage the threads on the neck 11, the sleeve 22 will he slid back so that its openings 18 will again be open to the flow of powder. The cap 16 can then be screwed home, repositioning the parts as shown in FIG. 2.

It will be understood that the cup portion of cap 16 formed by annular wall 22 may be omitted where desired, in which case the weight of material above slide member 14 will serve to slide it downwardly to close olf neck 11. However, it is usually desirable to have a positive means for pulling slide member 14 downward as the cap 16 is removed.

Although the invention has been described in relation to the dispensing of powdered material, it is to be understood as previously stated that liquid material may also be dispensed by my invention.

From the above description it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter of this invention is capable of variation in its detail without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore the scope of protection sought is that defined by the appended claims.

What i claimed is:

1. A closure assembly for use with a container having an opening defined by a neck comprising in combination a sleeve slidable in said neck, said sleeve being closed at its inner end and having an opening in its wall adjacent said closed end and communicating with the interior of said container, means on said sleeve at its closed end seatable on said container at the inner end of said neck to seal the container when said sleeve is in its outward dispensing position, a cap detachably secured to said neck, and means for engagement between said cap and said sleeve during movement of said sleeve between its inner and outer positions whereby the contents of said container are sealed from contamination.

2. A closure assembly as in claim 1 wherein said cap has a receptacle formed by an annular wall attached to said cap and telescoped within said sleeve.

3. A closure assembly as in claim 1 wherein said sealing means additionally retains said slide member within said container neck to prevent accidental removal of the sleeve.

4. A closure assembly as in claim 1 further including screw threads on the interior of said cap and co-operating screw threads on the exterior of said container whereby rotation and withdrawal of said cap rotates and moves said sleeve into its outer position.

5. A closure assembly for use with a container having an opening defined by a neck comprising in combination a sleeve slidable in said neck, said sleeve being closed at its inner end and having an opening in its wall adjacent said closed end and communicating with the interior of said container, a flexible bottom wall on said sleeve, a stem attached to said bottom wall and extending axially through said sleeve, and means on said sleeve at its closed end seatable on said container at the inner end of said neck to seal the container when said sleeve is in its outward position.

6. A closure assembly as in claim 5 further including means on said bottom wall for increasing the outside diameter of said sleeve when the stem is pressed into the sleeve.

7. An insert adapted to be slidably inserted through a narrowed neck and to be thereafter expanded to prevent withdrawal, comprising an integral molded slide member having two dilferent stable configurations, a first configuration having a substantially cylindrical outer surface permitting insertion through a cylindrical neck, and means for causing said member to assume a second configuration having an annular flange at one end of the previously cylindrical surface.

8. A slidable insert as in claim 7 comprising a flexible wall cylindrical portion providing said cylindrical surface, an annularly corrugated wall adjacent an end of said cylindrical portion, a fillet between said cylindrical portion and said end wall, and means for causing said end wall to form a substantially conical surface with said fillet bent outwardly to form a flange projecting outwardly from said cylindrical portion.

9. A slidable insert as in claim 8, comprising a stem secured to said end wall and extending coaxially of said cylindrical portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,084,029 6/1937 Hochstim 22236l 3,179,313 4/1965 Malglaive 222-541 3,315,848 4/1967 Anfossi 22236l ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

I-IADD S. LANE, Examiner, i 

